I’d noted at the beginning of this diary, a few months ago:
…Gaza is essentially a total humanitarian disaster, as has been for quite a while now (i.e., Oxfam International reports here that Gaza is largely dependent upon foreign aid, with the ongoing crippling blockade certainly not helping matters any).
And unfortunately, things haven’t gotten any better since… The Guardian reported about a month ago:
Hospitals in Gaza will face an almost total power blackout by the end of February unless funding is secured to keep emergency generators running, the World Health Organization has warned.
An ongoing electricity crisis in Gaza has left hospitals reliant on emergency generators for up to 20 hours a day, while medical staff have been forced to cut back on basic services such as equipment sterilisation and diagnostics. About 500,000 litres of fuel are required each month to sustain critical care in Gaza, but funding will only cover hospitals’ needs until the end of February.
The article went on to quote Dr. Daher, the head of WHO’s Gaza sub-office, as saying that the Gazan health system is at “the edge of collapse”, and that “There are at least 200 babies and people in intensive care units. It would be a really fatal situation for them. There are dozens of people who are going to surgical operations that would be affected.”
And the LA Times painted this grim picture, a few days ago:
Deficit and desperation define life these days in the Gaza Strip. Residents make do with four hours of electricity a day. Most people don't have access to clean water because the supply system is contaminated with sewage. Breakfast for some schoolchildren is a cup of hot water flavored with a dash of salt.
"Despair isn't even the right word to describe what's going on here because things are getting worse and worse," said Omar Ghraieb, 31, a journalist and digital media manager living in Gaza. "We wake up to a world of struggles each day."
And, to top it all off- some are now speculating that this situation has become so critical, that war could break out at any moment.
But, there is a ray of light… the Democrats. (Remember them? The folks at the core of this blog’s mission, yes?)
On February 8th, Rep.Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. David Price (D-NC), in response to the Resident’s recent decision to cut U.S. contributions to UNRWA by 83%, wrote a letter to him stating the following:
As strong supporters of the United States’ commitment to the security of the State of Israel and the safety and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians alike, we write to urge you to continue vital US contributions to the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) and bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. Continuing to freeze this aid will harm American interests by exacerbating the threats facing both peoples and reducing the United States’ ability to help the Israelis and Palestinians reach a two-state solution.
…
The deterioration in the near-term prospects for progress toward a negotiated peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would render a cut-off of US assistance all the more dangerous. Deliberately exacerbating the hardship of the Palestinian people and reducing the ability of their government to function would only contribute to the benefit of those who reject engagement. Extremist and anti-Israel groups would be all too eager to fill in the vacuum, deepening their hold in the region and expanding their destructive influence on the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
And this letter was co-signed by 100 Congressmembers- all Dems.
It seems patently clear to me that funding to UNRWA ought to continue, however as necessary and correct as this aid is, it’s really only a “stopgap” measure. To remedy this for the long term, the underlying factors must be addressed. Namely, the Israeli blockade. And Hamas’s predilection for using imported materials to inflict damage to Israel, which played a vital role in bringing about the blockade.
So therefore, some terms for peace need to be agreed upon, so that Hamas will stop threatening Israel, and Israel will end the blockade.
I think there must be something, that enough people can agree upon, for it to be able to actually come to fruition.
I can’t say that I’m entirely sure what exactly this “something” is, but I have attempted a suggestion. And I feel fortunate to have had some wonderful and intriguing discussions along these lines, on this site, and elsewhere (oh this one was a real trip- lasting over a week, and amassing more than 750 comments…)
And, if I may now make a general remark: I don’t think there are any “good” answers here, so I believe this comes down to a matter of determining the “least bad” (and then whatever that turns out to be, should be the answer to go with).
And so this means that it’s not quite enough to point out shortcomings X, Y, & Z of a particular plan, because any plan is bound to have some challenging aspects to it. If you require that a solution be absolutely perfect in every respect, then a solution will never be attained, because there is no such solution. So I feel it’s also necessary to consider what other alternatives there could possibly be, and then size up the drawbacks associated with those, and weigh whether those drawbacks are worse than X, Y, & Z.
I will acknowledge though, that it might seem absurd to be speaking in terms of novel diplomatic approaches, at a time when the State Department has been gutted, and 45 has placed his wholly ignorant, inexperienced, and inept son-in-law in charge of these efforts.
But here’s where our heroes, our darlings, our shining superstars, come into the picture again: Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA, and my own rep btw, God bless her…) has introduced the Department of Peacebuilding Act (HR 1111), which calls for the creation of a Department of Peacebuilding, “dedicated to peacebuilding, peacemaking, and the study and promotion of conditions conducive to both domestic and international peace and a culture of peace.” And this bill has 37 co-sponsors, all of them (yup, of course) Dems. (If your rep is not currently a co-sponsor, you can sign this petition to them, requesting this.) In placing our support behind efforts such as these, we look forward, and lay the groundwork for making progress in the better days to come, when we will once again have a sane administration. ☮